Category Archives: Energy

Earlier this month the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill, the “Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011,” which, if it becomes law, would effectively halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This is one of many attempts in an ongoing campaign by Republicans to limit the power of the EPA to make and enforce regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions. They are attempting this through budgetary control measures as well as by attempting to strip the EPA of its regulatory authority in this area through legislation. There appears to be an intentional effort to cast this as a battle between the legislative and executive branches. However, this is actually a battle royal including all three branches of the federal government, as well as many state, local, and private organizations. It is important to look at the recent history of this fight … Read the rest

The cost of “running” your business, not to mention heating your home, in Illinois may change after the Illinois Commerce Department’s recent power auction. [1] Currently, power rates have been frozen since 1997, but the freeze will expire in 2007. [2] It is then that some people, including state legislators, feel power rates will increase and the results of the power auction will be felt. [3] The current statute governing power rates in Illinois is known as the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Law of 1997. [4] In the next paragraphs this article will attempt to synthesize some of the information surrounding this topic by explaining the power auction, the extent of potential rate increases, and the potential for a continuation of the Rate Relief Act of 1997.

The power auction took place from September 5 to September 8. [5] During the power auction state suppliers placed